Don't Forget to Remember Me
by Nightlingbolt
Summary: While pursuing a dark mage with Team Natsu, Erza unintentionally disturbs an ancient tomb. She is cursed to forget her soul mate, who happens to be Natsu. Now, to make Erza remember who he is, Natsu must make Erza fall in love with him. NatsuxErza
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, people. Nightlingbolt here. Welcome to my new fanfiction project, "Don't Forget to Remember Me!"**

**So the idea for this story took a couple different forms. One of them was that Erza would forget everything after Jellal exiled her from the Tower of Heaven, leaving her with the mentality of a scared, untrusting twelve-year-old girl, who for some reason takes more kindly to Natsu than the rest of the guild. Unfortunately, I can't remember the other form, but hey, that's what happens when you don't write down your ideas. XD**

**I have this and the next two chapters written out, so I will aim for weekly updates, but I bought the GBA version of Zelda: A Link to the Past the other day, and I kind of wanna work on that. I did have a SoulSilver run in progress, and there's still a fair amount to do on Platinum, but for the former, Clair has me quaking in my boots (and let's not even GET into the Kimono Girls... *shudder*), and for the latter, I tend to get a little lazy after unlocking Stark Mountain.**

**Why am I even talking about my gaming habits here? They want Natza, Night! Natsu and Erza! Let's just get started!**

**I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, Hiro Mashima does.**

* * *

_Natsu and Erza were lying down after an intense sparring session, not far from his and Happy's cottage in the woods. Erza was nuzzling Natsu's bare chest, his coat long since discarded._

_"You keep getting stronger every day, Natsu," purred Erza contentedly._

_"Heh, I am getting stronger, aren't I?" laughed Natsu. He placed a light kiss on Erza's forehead, causing her to moan lightly._

_"You like that, don'tcha, Erza?" Natsu smirked._

_"Mmmm, I do," said Erza._

_"You want more, don't you?" asked Natsu, grabbing Erza's breast._

_"Ohhhh, yes," Erza hissed._

_"I love you, Erza," said Natsu. He squeezed Erza's breast again._

_"Ooh, I love you too, Natsu," gasped Erza._

_"Say my name, Erza," growled Natsu. "Who's your mate?"_

_"Natsu..."_

_"Who protects you?" Squeeze._

_"Oh! Ohhhh! Natsu!"_

_"Not Jellal?"_

_"No... Natsu! Ah!"_

_"Say my name!"_

_"Natsu...! Natsu!"_

"NATSU!"

"Hunh? Wha?" Natsu mumbled, shooting up in his bed upon hearing a shrill voice call his name. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and saw a blonde-haired girl with brown eyes and a generous chest.

"Lucy?" he exclaimed. "What are you... who let you in here?"

"Happy," replied Lucy. "Now you know how you make me feel, jerk!"

"You liiiiike him!" chirped Happy, rising from his position at the foot of Natsu's bed.

Lucy blushed. "Don't put words in my mouth, you damn cat!" she growled.

"Oooh, Lucy, you'd better make a move soon!" said Happy. "Natsu's been talking about Erza in his sleep! I think he's having nauuuuuuughty dreams!"

Natsu stared at the blue Exceed, a deadpan expression on his face that belied absolute fury. "I'm right here, asshole!" he snarled.

"Dreams? About Erza? Well now, this is interesting," said Lucy with a smirk. However, it disappeared as quickly as it came. "But we have to leave. _N__ow._ Erza wanted us out of here an hour ago, and you have the absolute nerve to oversleep!"

Natsu looked at Lucy in horror. They were an hour late? Erza was going to skin him alive for this! He grabbed his scarf from its spot on his headboard, grabbed his shirt and pants from yesterday and put them on.

Lucy managed to catch a whiff of Natsu's body odor. "Hold it, Salamander!" she ordered. "Erza's already going to kill you for oversleeping. But she's going to kill you worse than she already was if you didn't at least clean up! More importantly, she's going to kill me for not making sure you cleaned up! SO GET IN THAT BATHROOM AND DON'T COME OUT UNTIL YOU'RE SQUEAKY CLEAN!"

Natsu cringed. Lucy was scary when she was angry, and especially so when she was scared of Erza. He scampered into the bathroom without a second thought.

* * *

Underneath the scalding hot shower, which didn't affect him that much, if at all, due to the nature of his magic, Natsu reflected upon the dreams he had been having recently.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't at least have a crush on Erza, but the nature of his dreams had been growing increasingly sexual, with himself becoming more and more dominant and Erza more and more submissive. And that scared him a little.

The dreams had started after the Grand Magic Games, after Jellal had officially joined up, along with Ultear and Meredy. He had never dreamed about Erza before, or even Lucy or Lisanna, at least not in such an impure manner. Was this his dragon instincts telling him something? Did he really have these kinds of feelings for Erza?

He knew he needed to tell someone about the dreams, maybe even figure out what they meant. But who could he tell? Lucy? Sure, he could trust her with just about any secret, but he wasn't naïve to her feelings for him. She hadn't said anything thus far, but Natsu figured she didn't want to do anything to upset their partnership, and if he told her about Erza, that was exactly what would happen.

Cana could possibly look into the matter with her cards, but telling her a secret was a trickle-down effect that led to one person knowing, then two, ten, and soon the whole guild. Gray had experience in the romance department, being in a stable relationship with Juvia, but it would be a cold day in Hell before he would ask that damn popsicle for any sort of advice.

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in Natsu's head. This had to be a Dragon Slayer problem! And if that was the case, there was only one person he could ask for advice. With the last of the shampoo rinsed out of his hair, he turned off the water, dried himself off, and stepped out of the shower.

Now he just had to ask him to cooperate.

* * *

Lucy sat on Natsu's bed, which turned out to be against her better judgment. Not only were the sheets matted with sweat (no doubt an unfortunate side effect of Natsu's magic), the mattress was almost as hard as a rock. She instantly recoiled and stood back up, mentally adding changing the sheets to her Natsu housekeeping list.

If Mira or Levy were there, they would think her actions were either cute, a sign that she liked Natsu, or some weird combination of the two, never mind that she was practically his volunteer maid! It was true insofar that she could no longer imagine her life without Natsu in it, but seriously, she had her limits on how much of the Dragon Slayer she could stand at one time!

Opposites attract. That was a major theme of her writings. But even so, the differences between them were taken to dangerous extremes. She was a neat freak in every sense of the phrase; everything in its place was her motto. And Natsu... Natsu was chaos incarnate. She could barely remember a time when Natsu wasn't leaving a wake of destruction and not costing the team their entire reward to repair the damage he caused, or otherwise making some sort of mess of her house without her there.

But that was part of the reason she loved Natsu, take that as you will. He was wild and passionate, and she was... well, a control freak. She knew Natsu would change his ways almost to the point where she couldn't recognize him, just to be her ideal boyfriend, and she didn't want that. She had always wanted her father out of her life, and when she heard about his death, she realized wanting was always better than having.

So despite her own feelings, she silently cheered Natsu on, rooting for him to find someone who could change him for the better without compromising who he was. And now that she knew Natsu had dreams about Erza, it had started to dawn on Lucy that she was just the kind of woman who could give that to Natsu.

Of course, she still had to bust his balls over it later. Hey, even if she did have feelings for Natsu, she was still his best friend. And that was just the kind of thing best friends did for each other.

* * *

**And there we go!**

**Now, I'm building up to Erza's amnesia, which is something I don't really do that often in my stories, so it's gonna be a while before things get exciting. But I promise you won't be bored with the wait.**

**I think I'll also put up a poll to see if anyone is really interested in me starting Light My Way. If I get enough people, I'll work on that on an irregular schedule. But for now, I hope you enjoy Don't Forget to Remember Me, and until the next chapter, peace and love from Nightlingbolt.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, people! Nightlingbolt here! Welcome back to more "Don't Forget to Remember Me!"**

**I don't really have much to say about this chapter. I mean, I wrote it not long after I finished the first one, so I can't really remember where I was going with it when I wrote it. However, looking at it again, I'm happy enough with the result to post it. Anyway, let's just get to it.**

**I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters, Hiro Mashima does.**

* * *

Erza Scarlet was slowly losing her patience. Gray had dropped out of the mission, Natsu was beyond fashionably late, and Lucy should have had him back here already. Only Wendy and Carla were waiting with her, but with how long Natsu was taking, she might as well go to Mirajane and tell her the mission is off!

Of course, she was more than qualified to tackle this request singlehandedly, but what good would that do for the development of her teammates? Natsu and Gray had everything they needed to be S-Class mages already, and so did Lucy. The boys just needed to refine their skills a little more, and Lucy needed to learn how to be more creative with her Spirits. Hell, she could summon two at once, and how many other Celestial mages in history could ever do that?

Gray had started to crack the secrets of Dynamic Ice-Make thanks to Ultear's tutoring, and he could even manipulate his constructs to a certain extent. Of course, he wasn't at the point where he could make them fight alongside him, but a little extra training would take care of that.

And Natsu? Natsu didn't really need to improve in terms of magic. He did, however, have a long way to go when it came to strategizing. If he could only master the art of thinking ahead, it wouldn't be long before he could defeat her effortlessly.

"Natsu..." she whispered.

When Jellal had first joined the guild, there were, of course, whispers that he and Erza would become a couple. However, they had both decided to put the past behind them, start from a clean slate, and then worry about a potential relationship. However, Natsu had been rather reluctant to let them spend any time alone together.

Erza found it sweet, yet a tad annoying at the same time. Jellal had a right to spend time with her, just like anyone else in Fairy Tail did! But even so, Erza saw where he was coming from. After all, he had been the one to protect her from Jellal at the Tower of Heaven, and had therefore seen just how pathetic the other man was capable of leaving her, so she had concluded it was just his protective instincts driving Natsu to put himself between her and Jellal.

Once again, sweet and annoying.

"Oi, Erza!" yelled a familiar voice. Speak of the Dragon.

Natsu was running up to the train station, Lucy and Happy bringing up the rear. Also, to her surprise, Gajeel and Pantherlily were with them.

"Gajeel?" she asked. "I don't remember asking you to accompany us today," she said with a touch of disdain.

"Salamander invited me," said Gajeel disinterestedly.

"Gray is primarily a melee fighter, so Gajeel should be able to replace him seamlessly for this mission," said Lily, justifying his partner's participation.

"Fine," said Erza with a huff. "Everybody on board! The next train out isn't for another hour, and I am not delaying this mission any longer than it already has!" With that, she boarded the train.

Natsu pulled Wendy aside. "Cast Troia on me and Gajeel," ordered Natsu. "I need to talk to him privately, and I doubt I'll get a chance during the mission." Wendy nodded and cast the spell to cure motion sickness on her fellow Dragon Slayers, along with herself.

* * *

Once the train left the station, Natsu had dragged Gajeel into an empty car. "So," prompted the Iron Dragon Slayer. "You say you've been having dreams."

"Aye," replied Natsu.

"You do realize I'm not a dream doctor, Salamander," said Gajeel dryly.

"Just hear me out!" said Natsu. "And don't tell ANYONE!" he added with a hiss.

"As if your dreams would interest anyone," said Gajeel. "But since you promised me three-quarters of your reward, I'm all ears."

Natsu sighed. "They're about Erza," he said.

Gajeel raised his brow. "Titania?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Natsu. "They started innocently enough. Me and Erza on picnics, lying on the grass, feeding each other cake... that sort of mushy crap."

Gajeel had a good idea where Natsu was going with this, but he still needed to hear more. "Go on."

"But then... we started kissing. In the dreams, I mean. They started with lips, then mouth, then tongue... and eventually, touching happened."

"Touching?" Gajeel repeated with a smirk.

"Don't rub it in!" Natsu yelled.

"Okay! Sorry!" said Gajeel. "Where do you touch her?"

"Breasts... crotch... stomach... it varies from dream to dream," Natsu admitted. "And that's not even the scary part."

"You mean the fact Titania wasn't impaling you with a thousand different swords isn't scary?" said Gajeel.

"No!" exclaimed Natsu. "I mean, yes! I mean... yes and no! Erza keeps going along with it, and I end up growing more and more... aggressive..."

Gajeel thought he had all the information he needed, but he still had a couple more questions. "Let me ask you this: did you ever use the word, 'mine?'"

"...Yeah..." said Natsu, his face as pink as his hair.

"And did she ever say she was yours?"

"..."

"Did Titania ever say she was yours?"

"YES, ALREADY!" yelled Natsu.

Gajeel clapped his hands. "All right then," he said. "I have a guess as to what's going on, but first I need to ask you one more question."

"...Don't wanna," pouted a mortified Natsu.

"It's totally innocent! Now do you wanna know what's going on or not?" Gajeel snarled. Natsu nodded timidly.

"_Damn, this is really starting to bug the guy," _thought Gajeel. "When did the dreams start?" he asked.

Natsu thought for a moment. "The furthest back I can remember is right after Crime Sorciere joined the guild," he said.

"_Jellal,"_ thought Gajeel. "I'm right then," he said. "You're starting to recognize Erza as a mate."

Whatever Natsu had been expecting, it was sure as hell not that. "Erza...? Mate...?" he managed to sputter.

Gajeel slapped Natsu. "Get a hold of yourself, Dragneel," he muttered. "And yes, mate."

Natsu was still confused. Even though Gildartz had given him "The Talk," Igneel had never explained dragon mating to him. "I don't understand," he said.

"Dragon Slayers don't just have those dreams about anyone, Salamander," said Gajeel. "Sure, they can do the nasty with just about anyone, but those dreams usually come about when they feel something... more... for someone."

"These dreams... they've never happened to me before! Not even about Lisanna, or even Lucy! And especially not about Erza!" said a panicking Natsu.

"Well, they don't happen unless the Dragon Slayer feels something for the person he's dreaming about," said Gajeel. "And they usually take some sort of trigger. A potential rival for your right to mate her, in your case. One from Crime Sorciere, maybe?"

Realization dawned on Natsu. "You mean Jellal!" he said.

"Not unless Titania's a lesbian. Then I could mean either Ultear or Meredy," said Gajeel with a chuckle.

"Stop screwing around!" yelled Natsu, swinging a flaming fist at Gajeel's head. The Kurogane took it in stride, figuring he deserved that one.

"You know, you're going to have to tell her how you feel eventually," said Gajeel. "Preferably before you start acting out your dreams. However, as hilarious as it would be to see Titania beat you senseless for saying you want to mate with her, it would also make me look like a fool for letting you do so."

"So what do I say to her?" asked Natsu.

Gajeel grinned. "Shoobee doo bop!" he exclaimed. In a flash of light, he donned his white suit and his guitar.

"No! No singing!" yelled Natsu.

The suit and guitar disappeared. "Why must you deny me my fun?" he grumbled. Getting back to business, he continued speaking. "Just be honest with her. Worst-case scenario, she beats you to a bloody pulp, forgets all about it, you're still friends, and the world keeps spinning."

"That... doesn't really help me," said Natsu.

"Well, it's all I got," shrugged Gajeel. "Come on, we'd better get back before the girls miss us." Natsu nodded, and the two Dragon Slayers made their way back to their team.

"Hey, Gajeel," said Natsu.

"What?"

"Do you ever have those dreams about Levy?"

It was Gajeel's turn to be embarrassed. "None of your damn business!" he yelled.

Natsu's only response was to grin like an idiot.

* * *

**Hah, a little GaLe for you guys! Also, expect some LoLu, the aforementioned Gruvia, and maybe a tiny bone for the NaLu community (don't get excited, this will be Natza through and through).**

**If you follow me on Tumblr (I have like, zero followers!), you should have seen that I created a new OC. I do plan to feature him in Platonic Life Partners, a future project I'm drumming up ideas for. However, that's still a long ways off.**

**Hey, I just hatched up an idea! How many of you guys would be interested in me doing another NatsuxErza alphabet challenge compliant with the timeskip? Of course, that's still a long ways off, and I'd like to actually get situated with this story before working on too much else. That won't be the case once I get going with For Want of a Nail, since that would just be a fun fic to be updated whenever I get inspiration. Also, I plan on restarting FireRed again soon, and I'm juggling Emerald with it, so I really want to work on playing those because A: I plan on Let's Playing those games one day, and B: I enjoy gaming just as much as I do writing, so I want some time for me.**

**But enough of that. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and until the next one, peace and love from Nightlingbolt.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, people! Nightlingbolt here! Welcome back to more "Don't Forget to Remember me!"**

**As I mentioned previously, I've been going through some personal stuff, and I've been willing myself to become more disciplined in searching for a job. But hey, the Nintendo E3 conference was today, and I knew I wanted to be all cleaned up before that, so I guess it's just a matter of making job hunting fun for me.**

**But besides that, sorry I didn't get this up Thursday/Friday like I expected. I wanted to get it up at 3PM, so I could maximize my views, and I was out at that time. Also, last Friday was my sister's graduation, and I was gone like, all day for that. So my current thinking now is that I get this up today, get Chapter Four up Thursday, and maybe a little something extra tomorrow if I can finish writing it. But until then, just enjoy this chapter.**

**I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters, Hiro Mashima does. Anyone not instantly recognizable is owned by me.**

* * *

The group had arrived in the town of Capri Foglio, a rustic city known for its contributions to archeology. It's been said that the entire downtown area was built using materials from ancient times. Needless to say, it was quite beautiful, even in the run-down state it found itself in.

The Fairy Tail mages were debriefed on their mission: a groundskeeper for the Forgotten Ruins, Capri Foglio's main attraction, had seen two suspicious kids go into the off-limits catacombs. The next evening, various ice creatures were seen attacking the town. There were no mages among the residents, so they couldn't fight the creatures, which is where Fairy Tail came in. The objective was to apprehend the ice mages terrorizing the town. The mayor was prepared for damage to the ruins, but stressed the importance of minimal destruction.

The ice creatures only came out at night, so the Fairy Tail team had the rest of the day to themselves to prepare for the mission. Despite lacking mages, there was a single magic shop renowned for selling powerful magical artifacts, which Lucy, Wendy and Carla had wanted to check out. Gajeel and Lily had opted to stay behind at the inn for a nap, leaving Natsu to ask Erza out for lunch. Erza had accepted on the condition that Natsu would pay, as he was the one who had asked her.

And so, Salamander and Titania were seated in a corner booth at a local diner. Erza couldn't help but notice that Natsu had seemed a little... off. Every time she had tried to make eye contact, he had shifted his head away. As far as she could tell, Natsu had something he needed to say, but wasn't initiating the conversation. So it fell to her to call Natsu out on it, for the good of her team.

"Natsu," she said sternly. "Is there something on your mind?"

Natsu snapped to attention. "What? No! Nothing's on my mind! I got nothing! I never have anything! You know that!" he sputtered. "How's Jellal?"

"Jellal?" repeated Erza. "He's integrating quite nicely into the guild. But I doubt you're really that interested in Jellal."

"I am! I really am!" said Natsu. "Rah, rah, Jellal! Love that Jellal! But not too much! Get what I'm saying, Erza?"

Erza sighed. "Natsu... you know you can always come to me if something is troubling you, right?" she asked gently.

"Aye," said Natsu. "But this is more... complicated... than that."

"Natsu, no offense, but the only reason you've never won against me is because you don't do complicated," said Erza with a smile. "Whatever you have to say to me, I _will_ understand."

Natsu sighed. "All right, fine," he said. "Have you ever found yourself looking for something you never really thought existed?"

Erza was surprised by Natsu's question. "Why would I waste my time looking for something I didn't believe exist?" she asked.

"My point exactly," said Natsu. "But do you ever just... I dunno, get it? Get that that something you thought didn't exist was right there in front of you the whole time?"

"Hmmm... no, I don't think I have," replied Erza. "Why do you-?"

"Erza, I think we should be together!" Natsu blurted out.

Erza drew back in shock. "Together...? As in... a relationship?" she whispered.

"Uh... I guess so..." replied Natsu, clearly humiliated with himself.

Erza drummed her hands on the table as she collected her thoughts. "I... I don't think I'm... ready for a serious relationship..." she said.

"You don't feel the same," said Natsu. It wasn't a question.

"No! It's not that!" said Erza quickly. "It's just... well, have I ever told you the reason I wear armor?" Natsu shook his head.

"I wear armor everywhere I go because... I feel fragile without it," said Erza. "I thought I had loved Jellal once, but... he broke me, Natsu. And when I came to Fairy Tail for the first time, I thought I would never put myself back together.

"Armor holds me together, Natsu. Yes, I've grown less dependent on it ever since... the Tower... but I still feel vulnerable whenever armor can't protect me. And it can't protect me from... feelings."

Natsu nodded once, acknowledging what Erza had said. "So what does that mean... for me?" he asked.

"These feelings you're expressing to me truly make me feel beautiful," said Erza. "But even that's not enough to convince me that they're real. That's something I ultimately need to figure out for myself."

"I think I understand," said Natsu, a little unsure of himself.

"I'm glad," said Erza brightly. "And besides, a relationship would only distract us from making Fairy Tail the top guild in Fiore again!" She had hoped her enthusiasm didn't sound too forced.

"Yeah," agreed Natsu. "Gotta take Fairy Tail back to the top!"

"And take those Sabertooth bastards down a peg or two!" added Erza.

"Aye! No question!" roared Natsu.

At that point, the waitress arrived with their meals: tuna salad on rye and rice for Erza, and chicken legs, two biscuits, and a lighter for Natsu.

"I'm all fired up now!" said Natsu, lighting his food. "Let's dig in!" With that, he tore into a flaming chicken leg, seemingly not caring about his confession any longer.

But Erza did. As she poked at her food, she reflected on what she had told her friend. True as it was, it was only half the story. Erza had almost instantly been smitten with Natsu from the day he joined Fairy Tail. However, her experiences with Jellal had convinced her that love was nothing more than a weakness an enemy could exploit. And so she had created the abrasive persona that would come to define her later in life as a means of coping with her feelings. At least until the Tower of Heaven happened...

"_Get your head in the game, Scarlet!"_ she admonished herself. She couldn't afford to be thinking about her personal life just before a mission! She just hoped Natsu was professional enough to put his funk aside until the job was done.

Unbeknownst to the two Fairy Tail mages, a small scarab made of ice was spying on them. It was one of many ice scarabs meant to survey the town on the will of its caster. Silently, it disappeared into mist, relaying its information back to its caster.

* * *

"Looks like we got Fairy Tail mages, Algor."

"Anyone I'd consider a threat?"

"Erza Scarlet, and judging by the fact that he was eating fire, Natsu Dragneel."

"Dragneel's of no concern, Terris. You and Winry deal with him and anyone else that may show up."

"And Erza?"

"..."

"Algor?"

"I'll deal with her personally."

"Heheh! That's our Master, all right!"

"Right. Kristallnacht is, after all, invincible."

"That's right, Winry. We'll freeze the wings straight off those damn Fairies, and anyone else that tries to put us on ice."

* * *

**And there we go.**

**I was told I was rushing Natsu's feelings for Erza, but again, the point of this story, as you see from the summary, is that Erza forgets who Natsu is. He's already in love with her, so he needs to make her fall in love with him to make her remember. It's like Super Mario RPG, when you start at Bowser's Keep and rescue the Princess in the first five minutes, only for the sword to fall from the sky and make everything go to hell in a handbasket. Point is, there's still a lot more story to come.**

**So I guess that's it for now. Until next time, peace and love from Nightlingbolt.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, people! Nightlingbolt here! Welcome back to more "Don't Forget to Remember Me!"**

**There's really not much to say about this chapter, just that this is the actual mission starting up. The next few chapters are pretty much going to be fight scenes, FYI, and I didn't get a chance to write down any significant part of them before Memorial Day, when I lost my motivation to do any sort of writing, so I'll be spending the next couple weeks trying to type them out, which is why I started Figuring It Out, of which there is another chapter waiting.**

**Again, the whole purpose of this chapter is to move the plot along, so take it for what it is, and enjoy.**

**I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, Hiro Mashima does. I own Algor, Winry, and Terris.**

* * *

"So this is the Forgotten Ruins?" said Natsu. "Sure looks like someone remembered them."

"Actually, Natsu, these ruins get their name from the fact that no one remembers what they were originally meant to be," explained Lucy. "Some say they were a place of worship, some say a mausoleum."

"Well, whatever they were, they're a tourist trap these days," said Gajeel. "Can you believe people pay good money to see old buildings?"

"Ah, but that's the genius of it, Gajeel," said Pantherlily. "People are genuinely curious. Exploring these ruins allows them to draw their own conclusions based on what they find."

"So what you're saying is, people are morons," said Gajeel. "All I see is stone this and stone that, and I don't really see how anyone else could see otherwise."

"I'm surprised to hear such words coming from a Dragon Slayer who can turn his body into any sort of weapon," remarked Carla dryly.

"Actually, I'm with Gajeel on this one," said Happy sheepishly.

"Hmph," huffed Carla. "Typical tomcats." Wendy had been silent ever since Lucy mentioned the word "mausoleum," and Carla had noticed. "What's the matter, Wendy?" she said softly.

"Um... do you think we'll see... ghosts?" asked Wendy timidly.

Carla had figured it was something like this. "Don't be ridiculous," said the female Exceed.

"So what if there are?" said Natsu. "We're Fairy Tail! A bunch of ghosts aren't gonna scare us, right?"

Wendy smiled briefly, then put on a brave face. "Right!" she said. "We're not scared!"

Erza watched the exchange with a smile. Natsu always knew just what to say to reassure his comrades. But now it was time to discuss strategy. "Listen up!" she ordered. "There are five mages and three Exceeds in our party. Therefore, I've decided to divide our force in three groups. Natsu, you, Lucy and Happy will be a group, as will Gajeel, Wendy, and Carla."

"Which, I suppose, leaves the two of us as a pair," said Lily.

"Correct," said Erza. "You have combat abilities which Happy and Carla lack – no offense."

"None taken," said Carla.

"Aye! Our job is just to look cute!" said Happy brightly.

"No, your job is to fetch help should your group need it," said Erza sternly. "Based on what we've been told, our foes use Ice-Make magic, the same as Gray."

"Then I don't need help," said Natsu. "I've fought Gray so many times I know all the tricks!"

"But has Gray ever used Dynamic Ice-Make against you, Natsu?" asked Erza. Natsu was silent. "That's what I figured. Now does everyone understand the plan?" Everyone nodded. "Then let's get moving."

The members of Fairy Tail descended into the catacombs. Immediately, the path branched off left, right, and forward. They divided into the agreed-upon groups, Natsu's going left, Gajeel's going right, and Erza's moving forward, unaware that they were being watched by an ice wolf as it melted into thin air.

* * *

In one of the crypts, a tall man with teal hair, amber eyes, and dressed in a long gray coat with a blue fur collar waited for contact from his subordinates. A buzz sounded in his head, and he pressed his finger to his temple and began to communicate with someone telepathically.

"_Erza's coming your way, Algor,"_ a male voice said. _"Winry, your me have Redfox and Marvell, and I'm getting Salamander and the blonde."_

"_Just don't embarrass yourself, Terris,"_ said a female voice.

"_Me? You've got two Dragon Slayers, Winry! I'm more worried whether _you_ can handle them,"_ said Ferris snidely.

"_Just make sure you don't give them a chance to get to Erza,"_ said Algor harshly. _"Got it?"_

"_Yeah yeah,"_ grumbled Terris. _"It'll be over quick."_ With that, he cut the link.

Algor created a block of ice in his hand. "I was hoping I'd see you again... Erza," he said. He crushed the ice in his hand. "It makes my revenge that much easier."

* * *

Natsu was busily sniffing the air, hoping to catch the scent of someone, anyone. He, Lucy, and Happy had been walking down the corridors for several minutes now, with no word from the pink-haired Dragon Slayer.

"Smell anything yet?" asked Lucy.

"No, just the musty smell of God-knows-what," said Natsu. "It's overpowering everything else, even your perfume."

"I don't smell... hey, wait a minute! What are you saying about my perfume?" asked Lucy indignantly.

"It reeks, Lucy. Simple as that," said Natsu.

"Why are you even wearing perfume on a mission?" asked Happy.

"In case I meet a cute guy while I'mn working," said Lucy. "Not that it's any of _your_ business."

"All you're gonna do is burn his nose off," said Natsu.

"Well, we don't all have dragon noses, Natsu," said Lucy dismissively. "Besides, it's not like I'm just going to have dirty dreams about the guy I like all of a sudden. Unlike your dreams about Erza."

"They're not dirty!" yelled Natsu a little too loudly.

"The first stage is always denial, Natsu," said Lucy. _"Man, it feels good to be on the right side of the teasing for once,"_ she thought.

Natsu blushed. "Okay, so maybe they are a little dirty," he admitted. "A kiss here, a grope there, maybe a little... Gaaaah, why am I telling you this?" he pouted, stamping his feet. A few seconds later, he stopped and sniffed the air again.

"Wait a minute... got something!" he said. "Let's go, Happy!"

"Aye, sir!" said Happy. With that, they rushed towards the source of the scent Natsu had picked up.

"Natsu, wait!" said Lucy. "Not everyone's as fast as you are!" She struggled to catch up to Natsu and Happy, but she managed to do it.

* * *

Meanwhile, Gajeel, Wendy, and Carla had explored the corridors with no luck so far. Despite Natsu's encouraging words, Wendy still feared that ghosts would come out and eat them at any time. Add to the fact that there was only so much air in the tombs for her to eat, and she wasn't feeling all that confident at the moment.

Suddenly, she picked up several unfamiliar scents. "Gajeel," she said, looking up at the older Dragon Slayer.

"You smell it too?" Gajeel asked. Wendy nodded. "Get ready."

Suddenly, a giant hand made entirely of ice grabbed Wendy. Despite the Dragon Slayer's screams, it dragged her towards an empty crypt.

"Wendy!" yelled Carla.

"That's not ready," muttered Gajeel, but nevertheless sprung into action and followed Wendy into the crypt.

The two Dragon Slayers were greeted by several dark mages led by a black-haired girl in a gray jacket. "You know, for Dragon Slayers, you guys don't look like much," she said. "My name's Winry of Kristallnacht, by the way. Not that it matters in the end, but I figure you should at least know the name of your killer." Gajeel and Wendy took their stances and prepared for battle.

* * *

Meanwhile, Natsu had followed the unfamiliar scent into another crypt, and he, Lucy, and Happy were greeted by a white-haired guy in a gray vest and a black long-sleeved shirt surrounded by several thugs. "Heh," he chuckled. "I knew joining Algor's guild would lead me to strong mages. I am Terris! I look forward to letting my ice beasts play with you!"

"Who is Algor?" asked Lucy.

"Only the man who will slay Titania Erza once and for all," smirked Terris. "The rest of you Fairies are mere annoyances he's delegated to us. Be honored he even thought of trash like you!"

Natsu growled as steam started to rise from his pores. "Slay Erza?" he whispered. "I'll burn him to the ground before that happens!"

With that declaration of war, the battle was on!

* * *

**Like I said. Plot, and not much else.**

**Looking over this chapter, I found it to be a bit boring, but as long as you guys like it, so much the better. Anyway, next week is going to be Figuring It Out, so until then, peace and love from Nightlingbolt.**


	5. Chapter 5

**No intro this time. I'm just not feeling it.**

**I will say that it was fun to write these fight scenes, but due to my weekend, I'm not so happy or inspired right now. Details on my profile.**

**I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters, Hiro Mashima does. I own Kristallnacht and its members.**

* * *

Erza and Pantherlily had walked down several corridors, and so far, nothing unusual had caught their attention.

Erza knew she should be more focused on the task at hand – finding and subduing the intruders that were terrorizing Capri Foglio – but her mind kept bringing her back to the lunch she and Natsu had shared earlier that day. After repressing her true feelings behind an abrasive personality for so long, it was still a shock to her that Natsu had returned those feelings.

"Jewel for your thoughts, Erza?" asked Lily.

"Huh?" said Erza distractedly before registering what the Exceed had said. "Oh, it's nothing, really. I was just thinking that things are too quiet."

"Well, I'm sorry we're not defeating swarms of monsters, then," said Lily jokingly.

Gajeel had told him in confidence about the dreams Natsu had been having about Erza. It made him think quite a bit, actually. Back in Edolas, the very idea of Natsu Dragion and Erza Knightwalker in a romantic relationship was laughable at best. But it had been seven years since he was sent to Earthland, even though it only felt like months due to Tenrou Island. That was plenty of time for the two to learn something from each other.

"You do, have a point, though," he said, continuing the conversation. "Between all of us, we should have at least some indication of where our targets might be."

Erza smiled. "I have the utmost confidence in every one of our teammates," said Erza with a smile. "We- kyaah!" She had fallen onto her bottom in a rather ungraceful fashion.

"Erza!" exclaimed Lily.

Erza stood back up, taking a good look at what she slipped on. "It's an arrow... made of ice," she whispered.

"Look," said Lily, gesturing ahead. Erza looked where Lily had indicated and saw several more arrows.

"This is obviously a trap," said Erza.

"Shall I find the others?" asked Lily.

Erza smiled what could only be considered a slasher smile. "What fun is a trap if you don't spring it?" she asked.

Lily gave a big grin of his own. "Erza, I like the way you think," he said. With that, the duo followed the arrows in anticipation of the oncoming fight.

* * *

Unbeknownst to them, an eyeball made of ice was secretly watching the exchange. This was Algor's Cold Stare spell allowing him to spy on Erza discreetly. Algor activated his telepathy.

"_Erza is incoming,"_ he said. _"Do whatever it takes to keep her allies from assisting."_

"_Right,"_ said Winry and Terris together. The link was cut, and Winry ordered her men to attack. The Kristallnacht mages cast various Ice-Make spells, ranging from gauntlets to ice knights.

Gajeel grinned. "And I was worried this was gonna be dull!" he said happily. "Iron Dragon's Sword!" Gajeel's entire forearm turned into a fine-toothed sword. Some of the ice creatures charged at Gajeel, and he beat them back with ease.

"You need to join the fight too, Wendy!" said Carla.

"Right!" replied Wendy. "Arms X Vernier!" Her arms and legs glowed, infused with the power of Sky magic. The mages with weapons charged at her, which she intercepted with speeding punches. Even so, they still kept coming.

"Carla! Get me into the air!" ordered Wendy. The Exceed grabbed Wendy's back and activated her Aera magic, lifting Wendy into the air.

"Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!" Whirlwinds generated from Wendy's arms. "Spin!" she commanded. Carla spun Wendy around in circles, amplifying the winds from Wendy's attack. Many of the enemy mages were lifted off the ground and tossed around.

Suddenly, Wendy realized she had an ally on the ground. "Gajeel!" she called.

"I'm good!" replied the Iron Dragon Slayer, who had activated his Iron Dragon's Scales to resist Wendy's strong winds. "On three, we roar! One!"

"Two!" yelled Wendy.

"Three! Sky/Iron Dragon's Roar!" they said together. Between their blasts of air and iron, the Dragon Slayers swept the room until not a single member of Kristallnacht stood standing.

"And that's the end of that chapter!" said Gajeel confidently.

"Hmmph. What weaklings," said Carla.

"Wait... where's their leader?" asked Wendy.

"What- Gaaah!" screamed Gajeel as several ice arrows imbedded themselves in his back.

"Gajeel!" screamed Wendy. She looked at where Gajeel was shot from and saw Winry with a bow made of ice. Her body was flat, a sign that she had used Flattening magic to hide herself from the combined Dragon Roar assault.

"I'm fine!" growled Gajeel, pulling the arrows out with a grunt of pain. "They didn't get too deep. Hurts like a motherfucker, though."

"Just rest for a while," said Wendy. "I'll take it from here."

"Will you?" said Winry. "I don't care much for fighting children, but Algor's orders are absolute. I'm to stop all Fairies from coming to Erza's aid."

"Erza-san can take whatever your Algor can dish out," said Wendy. "I'm the same as her – a mage of Fairy Tail! For that reason... I'll definitely win!"

Winry laughed. "You'll definitely win?" she repeated. "Sorry, kid, but I'm twice the mage you'll ever be." She put her arms in front of her and shouted, "Ice-Make: Dragon!"

A large cloud of mist formed, and from it sprang a ten-foot-long serpentine dragon. The beast roared in fury, ready to serve its master.

* * *

Meanwhile, Natsu's team was struggling against Terris's forces. Natsu, Loke, and Capricorn were driving back the mages and their ice beasts, but they struggled to remain mindful of Lucy and Happy, who had no physical fighting capabilities to speak of, which wasn't to say Lucy hadn't tried. Unfortunately, her Fleuve D'etoile had been frozen solid, being made of water, and she just couldn't take on that many mages at one time.

"Dammit, this isn't working!" said Natsu angrily.

"Tell me about it!" agreed Loke. "It's all we can do to protect Lucy!"

Lucy narrowly avoided a cut from an ice sword. It was then that she got an idea. "Loke, charge an attack! Natsu, aim your Dragon Roar at Loke! Capricorn, we're gonna have to keep 'em busy!"

"Together, then, Lucy-sama," said Capricorn. He charged off into the fray, Lucy following behind with her standard whip.

"On my mark, Natsu!" said Loke. He held up his arm to the sky. "O Regulus! Grant me your power!" Loke's hand began to glow with yellow light. Natsu continued to beat back thugs and ice beasts until Loke said "Now!"

Natsu grinned. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" he yelled, letting loose a blast of fire at the Lion Spirit. The fire formed around Loke's fist, and that's when he sprang into action.

"Regulus Dragon Blaze!" announced Loke. He punched a nearby Kristallnacht member. The impact caused an explosion that engulfed the rest of the dark guild. When it faded away, all but Terris were unconscious.

"Huh. Guess your plan worked after all," said Natsu. Lucy smiled at the Dragon Slayer, slightly singed, but satisfied with the turnout.

"I... don't think you thought your plan all the way through, Lucy-sama," said Capricorn.

"What are you...?" Lucy started to ask, but stopped when she realized she was topless. "KYAAAH! Don't look at me!" she screamed.

"Why not? It's just boobs, right?" said Natsu nonchalantly.

Capricorn slammed Natsu facefirst into the wall. Meanwhile, Loke took off his jacket, his tie, and finally, his shirt, and gave the shirt to Lucy. "You can wear this for now," he said. "I must protect my lady's purity, after all."

"Trust me, Loke. Lucy's anything but pure," said Happy. "She writes poooorn."

"One sex scene does not equal porn!" Lucy ground out. Turning to Loke, she said, "Thank you." Loke just smiled at Lucy in reply.

Meanwhile, Natsu had wrenched himself out of Capricorn's grip and looked at Loke and Lucy. "You were right, Happy," he said. "They _are_ doing it!"

"I know! Riiight?" trilled Happy.

"Wrong!" shouted Lucy.

A loud grunt captured the group's attention. Terris rose to his feet, having regained consciousness. "I swore to Algor that no one would come to Erza's aid!" he yelled. "I will kill you all to keep that promise!" He put his hands out in front of him and bellowed, "Ice-Make: Dragon!"

From a cloud of mist, a large serpentine dragon made entirely of ice formed. It roared with all its master's fury.

"This is the culmination of all my magic!" declared Terris. "None have lived to tell the tale of the ice dragon! None, I say! Ahahahahahahahahaha!"

Natsu stared down Terris and his ice dragon. The sooner he defeated this guy, the sooner he could help Erza.

"I'm all fired up," he said with a smirk.

* * *

**And there you go. It actually feels good to get this done.**

**Also, I am aware of the Kristallnacht that occurred during WWII, and I don't mean to offend anyone by using the name. I just figured, given the roots of the term, it would make an ominous-sounding name for a dark guild full of ice mages. I should probably mention that I changed it from those three mages to an entire guild, since I figured that would make the fight scenes a little more dynamic, and by the time this goes up, I should have posted the edited versions of chapters 3 and 4 to reflect this change.**

**Well, I feel a little better, at least. See you all next chapter.**


End file.
